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In an attempt not to get overwhelmed on Sunday night, I have been doing daily scoreboard and highlight updates of the Twins games and of their minor league affiliates. So, if you missed my updates from Friday night and Saturday night, scroll down. Before diving into discussion about the excitement of the official opening of Target Field on Monday, I thought I would close out the weekend with thoughts on Sunday’s Twins and Twins minor league games. I’ll also post a few other notes.

One more note on the TwinsCentric Viewing Party. I ran into Aaron who is launching a site called Baby Jesus Baseball. Check out the t-shirt that they have available by clicking on the banner.

I’ll just admit… I didn’t watch any of the game. I went to the Minnesota Zoo. It was 70+ degrees, and it was a nice day to go check out the baby farm animals… and the bears were fighting in the pool, right next to the window!

Yes, JJ Hardy is that slow… I think we knew that, didn’t we? But that doesn’t mean that having Alexi Casilla pinch run for him makes sense.

Should Hardy have been held at 3B? Probably.

Any concern about Nick Blackburn? He struck out no one in 7.2 innings and no strikeouts. That is pretty bad, but that isn’t completely surprising. He’s not a strikeout pitcher. He’s a ground ball pitcher, at least that’s what people seem to think. And nearly 2/3 of his outs on Sunday were ground balls. However, the three home runs allowed are a bit alarming.

Going to Jose Mijares, knowing it would mean that Andruw Jones would come off of the bench, was a little strange, and yet, still should be successful nearly two out of three times. Just not on Sunday.

The third base situation was one of the concerns of the offseason and spring training. Nick Punto is now 2-15 and Brendan Harris is 1-9. Not good, but way too small of a sample size to worry yet, especially when Danny Valencia’s small sample size is now 1-11 on the season.

5-2 on a road trip. A 3-1 series win in Anaheim against the Angels. A 2-1 series win in Chicago against the White Sox. As a fan, it’s hard to ask for anything more than that. The upcoming three game series against the Red Sox will be big. I said before that if the Twins could start the season by winning five of their first ten, it would be good. Now, it would be great to win seven!

Sunday – Rochester 4, Pawtucket 3 – Erik Lis came up in the 8th inning with a runner on base and his team trailing by one. He connected and his first home run gave the Red Wings the lead, and eventually the win. Trevor Plouffe had driven in two runs earlier in the game with a single. Matt Tolbert had his first three hits of the season, including a double. Brian Dinkelman went 2-3 with a walk. Yoslan Herrera made the start. He went 3.2 innings and gave up just one run on three hits despite five walks and no strikeouts. RyanMullins came in and gave up two runs on three hits in one inning. Tim Lahey was down 30 pounds from last year, and he arguably had his best performance in four seasons with the Red Wings. He threw 3.1 hitless innings, allowing just one walk for the win. Kyle Waldrop pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.

New Britain Notes

Sunday – New Britain 4, New Hampshire 7 – Tyler Robertson made his first AA start. The lefty gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in 4.2 innings. Cole Devries came in and got the next seven outs. He gave up only an unearned run on two hits. Santos Arias came into the game with a 4-4 tie. With one out, a walk, an error and a three run homer and the game was essentially over. Rene Tosoni led the offense by going 2-5 with a double.

Miracle Matters

Sunday – Ft. Myers – Day Off.

Snappers Snippets

Sunday – Beloit 0, Peoria 2 – Brad Stillings gave up just one run over the first five innings, but due to a lack of Snappers offense, he took the loss. The righty gave up just three hits and a walk. Matt Tone pitched the sixth frame. He gave up a run on three hits and a walk, but struck out three. Dakota Watts threw two shutout innings, and then Ben Tootle pitched a perfect ninth inning. Derek McCallum went 1-2 with two walks and a stolen base. Danny Rams added a double. The Snapper bats are not yet running on full steam. Aaron Hicks finally got his first hit and is now 1-15. James Beresford, the team’s co-MVP last year (with Angel Morales) is now 0-15. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling that both will be just fine.

If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor leagues, please feel free to ask. Leave your questions or comments.

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2 Responses to “Sunday Game Notes”

Short of the Sox dropping the ball, dropping it again, and then throwing it into the stands, Hardy was dead meat. Mijares will cost us dearly before they send him down. And, yes, it is way too early to draw any conclusions about 3rd base other than the obvious one that the Nickster will likely hit under .230.